homeland

We need to talk about “The Affair” (again). So all this time Noah stabbed himself? I wish he had finished the job. Talk about a loathsome character. And no, I don’t feel bad for him because of his crappy childhood. Plenty of people have hardships and don’t become self-destructive nymphomaniacs. I know the show has been renewed for another season so we’re probably stuck with this lame character, but I’d much rather focus on Helen and Cole.

I’m not sure how the show intends to wrap everything up in one hour tonight, which probably means that it won’t. Why do we need the distraction of this random French woman? Why does Noah need another woman fawning all over him? Why does Noah need to be in the finale at all? Did Brendan Fraser gain weight for the role or did he just get fat? Burning questions, all.

It’s hard to make any predictions given how unpredictable the show’s been, which is one of the reasons it’s a great show. I thought season 2 was much better than the current season.

I saw the first episode of Riverdale and I’ll stick around for a few more, if only to watch the actress playing Veronica. She’s just about the only thing this show has going for it, besides the snarky millennial dialogue.

Homeland is off to a slow start but I understand the producers have to set the table for the season. It looks like Saul gets kidnapped again, so I expect that Carrie will come up with some crazy scheme to save him. I wish Quinn had died last season because I can’t stand watching him behave so recklessly.

For those of you who don’t know, the first episode of the new season of Homeland is available On Demand. It premieres on January 17 but I just couldn’t wait. I had to watch the finale of season 5 beforehand to remember where it left off.

The new season has a promising storyline. Carrie is now in NYC with her daughter. She appears to be running a non-profit organization that assists disenfranchised people. In this episode, Carrie and a lawyer at the organization represent a young Muslim American who is arrested for running a website which allegedly incites violence against the USA. Otto During is somehow involved (perhaps the funder?).

Quinn is alive but appears to have a brain injury. I so hate to see him in this state, to the point where I wished he had died instead. I hope he recovers but that seems unlikely.

Saul seems to be on the outs due to his sympathy for the president-elect. Isn’t it interesting that Homeland cast Elizabeth Marvel from House of Cards in this role? She does have the gravitas to carry it.

Where is this all going? The scenes suggest that Saul is sent abroad on a mission and gets captured. Perhaps that’s orchestrated by Dar, et al.? It’s obvious that Carrie will get dragged back in, probably when Saul is in trouble, or possibly related to her organization’s new client.

I suspect that Quinn believing that someone is watching Carrie will be met with suspicion due to his brain injury, but it will end up being true.

I decided to check out a few network premieres this week so I wanted to share my thoughts with you. Those of you who follow me regularly know I detest network shows because they’re sanitized claptrap, unlike the brave stuff HBO and other cable networks are doing. There is definitely claptrap but I liked the three shows I watched (so far):

1.Designated Survivor. I’ll watch pretty much anything with Kiefer Sutherland. Even when 24 went off the rails in its later seasons, he kept the show watchable. I was ready to give up on Designated Survivor after the first 40 minutes, but the last few minutes left me wanting more. I’m not sure I’ll stick with this long-term, but it is due to be dvr’ed this week. There’s definitely claptrap potential with this show, so I’ll be closely monitoring. I will say that I can’t stand the actress who plays the first lady. Also, the show is treading dangerously close to “Homeland” territory with the annoying kids. B+

2.Lethal Weapon. Look, the only reason I watched this is because I really like Damon Wayans. I have to say I was pretty impressed, probably due to low expectations. The show itself looks pretty, and the two lead actors have a great rapport. There’s also claptrap potential here, plus the formula of the show may get old quickly. B+

3.Pitch. I would have loved this pilot, if the last 60 seconds were omitted. Claptrap alert, claptrap alert! If this show was on cable, it wouldn’t include a dead dad to keep our attention. There was so much to love about this pilot and it definitely has potential. The lead actress and Mark-Paul Gosselaar are terrific. A-

4.Gomorrah. I think we’re towards the end of the first season being aired in the USA on Sundance. It’s getting really good now. I believe the last segment will air on Wednesday. I then have to look for the second season somewhere. My guess is that Daniele’s brother will team up with Ciro to go after Conte, since he doesn’t know that Ciro was the one responsible for his brother’s death. I think he believes that Gennaro gave the order, and Ciro simply followed the order and had Daniele carry it out. We’ll see.

5.Mr. Robot. I have nothing to say about the season finale except that I have no earthly idea what is going on. I’ll still continue to watch though. Sam Esmail is a genius.

DVR alert: Poldark tonight at 8 on PBS; Shameless back on Showtime 10/2; Class Divide on HBO on 10/3

So I finished episode 10 of House of Cards last night. This was the episode where the Underwoods received the dual nomination at the convention. Now, I love this show, but this is preposterous on so many levels. One could say the show has now jumped the shark. I’ve been loving Claire’s rise throughout the series to become a true partner with her husband in their political schemes. However, this is too much. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for the enjoyment of a show (Homeland I’m looking at you) but this puts me over the edge. It’s totally unbelievable that a person with absolutely no political experience would be considered for VP. The show gave us no explanation for this monumental ascension. I have three episodes left which I’ll certainly watch but at this point, I’m skeptical.

I do hope the Underwoods get their comeuppance and that’s where this is all leading. I’m suspicious of Tom the writer bedding Claire and I think he’s on the Conways’ payroll. I’m hoping that will torpedo this whole Underwood campaign, though it seems that nothing stops them. The show itself is a marvel and I love the cinematography. Doug Stamper is still my favorite followed by Remy. It looks like poor Remy is going to become entangled in the Underwood web yet again.

I’ll check back in once I finish the season. Hope to do so this weekend so I can get to Bosch!

I don’t usually write about Shameless but I’m compelled to this week. I think this season has been the funniest so far. The scene this week where Frank went into the barber shop and came out with cornrows, with the rap music in the background, tore me up. I detest William H. Macy’s character in this show but he is on fire this season.

As for Billions, I’m still not into Giamatti’s overacting and refuse to believe that anyone that unattractive could land Maggie Siff. Claire Underwood as VP is more believable! He looks like a stuck pig (yes I am superficial). I was skeptical about Damien Lewis playing the hedge fund guy but he is terrific. I loved the punch out and his “Worth it!”, especially when someone memed it on youtube. I also couldn’t believe that the jackass father would drink and then get behind the wheel with a bunch of kids in the car. Do people really do that in society? Call me naive.

Better Call Saul is really great this season. I love the Mike Ermentraut storyline. I was wrong though, because I thought Nacho wanted him to get rid of someone higher up the food chain, i.e. Gus Fring. I suspect that’s to come, if they can get Giancarlo Esposito back (shhh, that’s my birthday wish).

I’ve been listening to the official podcast after each episode, which is pretty cool. Apparently, Mike was almost not a character in Breaking Bad. Bob Odenkirk was unavailable for a scene in season two so they introduced Mike instead. He was so well-received that the producers decided to keep him on. Glad they did!

I have to give a mention to Hap and Leonard, my new favorite show. I will say I only started watching it because Michael Kenneth Williams is in it. The chemistry between all of the characters is a lot of fun and Michael is great in this role. Apparently, the show is based on a book series. There are only three episodes left of this season so we’ll see what happens.

I’m still processing what really happened on Homeland this week. I remarked to my fellow watcher towards the end that it was a boring episode, then the proverbial shit hit the fan. Is Saul involved? Does he know? Is he behind it? Is the redhead using him to orchestrate her plan/s? Loyal readers know that I have believed that Saul is the mole from the very beginning of the show, because what better twist could there be? It didn’t all seem to fit together until now, assuming he’s involved. He did look shocked when the plane blew up but of course that could have been fake.

Is redhead working for the Russians? Israelis? Both? None? Many questions and I need a Carrie pushpin wall to keep track of all of the players and stories. Now I’m thinking maybe During is involved and is seeking retribution on the Israelis for something but that doesn’t make sense, at least not yet.

Did anyone else think Carrie’s “disguise” was terrible? Her facial features are way too recognizable. She needs something better than a Mia Farrow wig to hide herself. Colored contacts at least!

So glad that The Profit is back! Marcus Lemonis for president. I’m not an animal person but the concept of Bentley’s Bakery is a great one, especially since pet products are hot right now. These owners were probably one of the nicest set of owners we’ve seen on this show, with truly good intentions that went a little bit off track. Fortunately, they listened to Marcus’ advice and it appears they’re doing well. I chuckled when I realized that the show aired right after the RNC debate on economics, thinking that Americans could learn more about economics from Marcus than they ever would from any politician.

Speaking of what was called a debate but was simply a travesty, CNBC ought to be ashamed. I’m a libertarian so I have no dog in this fight but the moderators had such an obvious agenda it was painful to watch. How does a question like what is your weakness help anyone assess a candidate’s plans for the economy? I was glad it ended up backfiring on the network as their talking heads lost control early on and looked just plain silly. I’m not a fan of Ted Cruz but I respected his calling them out on it. It was clear that the network and/or the moderators were more interested in furthering their own agenda and making names for themselves. FAIL!

Some people love this time of year because of football, or the leaves changing, or the upcoming holiday. I, however, love this time of year because all my great tv is back! Certainly more material for posting but my dvr is working overtime, especially on Sunday nights. I’m considering investing in a second dvr but paying the Comcast thieves more $ than we already do is holding me back. We’ll see. So here’s what I’ve been watching this week, in no particular order:

1.Bosch (Amazon Prime). I’ve read a lot of Michael Connelly books over the years and Harry Bosch was one of my favorite characters. I’ll admit I subscribed to Amazon Prime solely to watch this show (it also helped that Amazon held a 1 day sale). We binge watched all 10 eps in two weekends. The show reminded me a lot of The Lincoln Lawyer movie in terms of its slickness and production. I’ve always felt that Titus Welliver was overlooked as an actor and he does great work here. I was also thrilled to see Jamie Hector in a leading role. He was great on The Wire and plays an entirely different character here. Anyway, the show’s been renewed for a second season so I guess I have to keep Prime for now.

2.Frontline “My Brother’s Bomber”. Only two of three parts have aired so far but I’m hooked on this story. A local filmmaker named Ken Dornstein is investigating who was behind the Lockerbie bombing from the late 1980s. His take is particularly interesting because his brother was on board. At this point of the documentary, he is zeroing in on a number of loose ends as to whether the bombing was sponsored by Libya, and he even travels to Libya a number of times to conduct interviews. I can’t wait to see the last part on Tuesday to find out what happens. I hope this show is getting a lot of eyeballs because it’s an important story with many unanswered questions.

3.The Affair. I’ve watched the first two eps so far and I’m still confused like I was last season. I need some dramatic hairdo changes to tell the time jumps (see Robin Wright, House of Cards). However, I’m intrigued enough to hang in there, especially since it seems like Maura Tierney may have a larger role this season. The criminal case is boring to me but I suspect Pacey (yes he’ll always be Pacey to me) is planning to see to it that Noah goes to prison so he can get back together with Alison. I saw a tweet this week asking if there’s a more loathsome individual on tv than Helen’s mother, and I would argue absolutely there is – NOAH! I hated Jimmy McNulty on The Wire and I didn’t think it was possible to hate a character more but along comes Noah Solloway. He hasn’t done one redeeming thing on this show and I can’t blame his kid for punching him in the face. I think I clapped.

4.Homeland. After redeeming itself last season, I have to say I’m very pleased with how they set the table for the coming season in episode one. Obviously Carrie will be pulled back in to the CIA but it was nice to see some normalcy for her. I thought Saul’s anger with her was unnecessary and selfish, but maybe we’ll see more on that backstory later. Carrie’s boyfriend looks an awful lot like Brody.

I’ll be back next week with my thoughts on the end of the Frontline film. Thanks for reading!